‘I feel like I’m frozen in time...’

DEVASTATED David Wiggins says he feels his whole life has come to a halt after he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

The 57-year-old, of Bell Grave Park, Claremount, Halifax, first noticed his right hand was shaking when he held a cup of tea on a break from his job as First bus driver.

He initially put it down to a trapped nerve but after a few months he visited his doctor.

“My doctor did a few tests and said ‘I’m sorry David, but I think you have Parkinson’s”.

Further tests at Calderdale Royal Hospital’s neurology unit in June last year confirmed the news.

Last month, Mr Wiggins was put on medication to curb the onset of the symptoms of the disease, which affects how the brain controls the body.

Mr Wiggins said: “It seemed to be progressing quite rapidly really.

“My left hand started shaking too and my walking had become quite bad. I can’t really walk.

“I more or less shuffle along, half a step at a time. I get tired easily.”

Mr Wiggins had been a bus driver for 17 years before the dignosis forced him to give it up.

Parkinson’s also limits what he can do with his two grandchildren and has put an end to the long walks he used to enjoy with his wife Susan, 54.

“When on holiday in Spain, we’d walk from one town to another. Now I can’t even walk 90 yards to the shop.

“It feels like my whole life has come to a halt.

“Sometimes I can be talking and forget what I’m talking about and just stop mid-sentence.

“Sometimes I freeze too. I went to a neigbour’s house the other day and I went to knock on the door and just froze. I couldn’t knock. I had to wait what felt like minutes before I eventually managed to knock.

“It’s like being frozen in time.”

Parkinson’s UK say one in every 500 people has Parkinson’s - most over the age of 50.

The charity is urging people to sign up to volunteer or help fund-raise as part of Parkinson’s Awareness Week.

Chief executive Steve Ford said: “Parkinson’s UK is a movement of people who are on a mission to find a cure and improve life for everyone with Parkinson’s. People tell me that being part of Parkinson’s UK is really satisfying because they feel that they are able to make a real difference.”